Saturday, July 7, 2012

Happy Ice Cream Cone Day!

When you walk into a Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop, they can't pull you in with the smell of ice cream. What smell? Exactly. There's another smell that permeates the air and once I smell it, it screams Ben & Jerry's to me: the waffle cone. When I visited Ben & Jerry's, we had our hand at making waffle cones and waffle bowls -- but we just made the waffles in the iron and shaped them into cones and bowls. Amanda had already made the batter. Darn her! I wanted that recipe. Just so my house could smell like a B&J Scoop Shop on a daily basis! (Hmmmm, marketing idea for B&J...a waffle cone candle -- and I don't even usually like to burn candles. But I'd burn this one!)

I could go into the history of ice cream cones, but it seems like this site and Wikipedia have got us covered. Wikipedia also lists the varieties of cones, including: "waffle cones, cake cones (or wafer cones), pretzel cones, sugar cones and chocolate-coated cones."

What would we do without cones or and the variations they have spawned? Here are a few ice cream cone creations, modifications, and a squirrelly little story about ice cream cones to whet your appetite and perhaps send you out for an ice cream cone to celebrate a very special day: Ice Cream Cone Day.

Emack & Bolio's claims to have invented the "flavored cone." From their website:"Emack & Bolio’s invented the flavored cone in 1980 and have been improving on the concept ever since. Making the perfect accessory to our Super Premium Ice Cream, there is a large selection to choose from. Looking for something different? Try our Marsh”mellow covered cones with your choice of Oreos, Rice Krispies, Fruit Loops, or Fruity Pebbles! If you are a fan of rainbow or chocolate jimmies we have cones that are dipped in chocolate and then rolled in this delicious topping. If you are feeling a little nuts, we have a cones that are rolled in a mix of them! Chocolate dipped waffle cones also look great rolled in shaved coconut. No matter which one you choose, you can’t go wrong!" Certainly sounds like you "can't go wrong!" Good invention, E&B!

In college, the only food you could easily take out of our dining hall was a soft serve ice cream in a wafer cone, since the cone was the "disposable" dish they didn't mind us taking. I was never a fan of wafer cones, but the sugar cone dripped (no gum drops for us!) so wafer cone it was for me and many of my peers. One day I was with my roommate in the Admissions Building when we looked outside to see a squirrel holding someone's discarded ice cream cone between his paws, munching away.